Reference checks 'essential' for landlords

Much like people rely on their employers to pay them their wages at the end of the month, landlords depend upon tenants keeping up with their rent to ensure that they're able to meet their own commitments to buy-to-let mortgage lenders.

So as investors set about building their portfolios and marketing their properties, it's also vital that they let their assets to tenants who are going to be able to stick to the agreed terms of the deal and not slide into arrears with their rent.

And in order to guard against the risk of late or failed payments, LettingFocus.com's private rented sector expert, David Lawrenson, advises landlords to carry out extensive reference checks on prospective tenants.

"It is essential to do thorough reference checks at all times - it is a key requirement," he said. "Make sure that you know the tenant, you know that they can afford the rent and that you have checked into their background as far as possible."

As such, as well as purchasing the necessary landlord insurance protection and complying with health and safety regulations, it seems that looking into potential tenants' credit backgrounds can be a strong indicator of the likelihood that they will keep up with their rent payments.

Indeed, if people have a poor history of meeting their financial obligations then the chances are that they may also find themselves in arrears if they fail to properly budget from month to month.

Yet considering that there is no such thing as a dead cert in any business, there could be times when landlords do have to address late rental payments, even if the tenants passed their referencing checks with flying colours.

In such instances, Mr Lawrenson suggests that landlords sit down with their tenants to discuss possible solutions to the problem, ensuring that they make you fully aware of the issues that they are having with the rent.